North Carolina

EMBLEMS Bird Cardinal. Fish Channel bass. Flower Dogwood. Insect Honeybee. Precious stone Emerald. Reptile Eastern box turtle. Rock Granite. Shell Scotch bonnet. Song “The Old North State.” Tree Pine. LAND Total area 53,819 sq. mi (28th), incl. 5,108 sq. mi. inland water. Borders Va., Atlantic Ocean, S.C., Tenn., Georgia. Rivers Pee Dee, Roanoke, Yadkin. Lakes Buggs Island, High Rock, Mattamuskeet, Norman, Waccamaw. Mountains Black, Blue Ridge, Great Smoky, Unaka. Other notable features Great Dismal Swamp, Mount Mitchell, Outer Banks, Pamlico Sound. ELECTED OFFICIALS Gov. Michael F. Easley (D, term exp. 2005). Lt. Gov. Beverly Purdue (D). Sec. State Elaine Marshall (D). Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper (D). PEOPLE (July, 2002 est.) 8,320,146 (11th). Race/Hispanic Origin (2000 Census): White 72.1%. Black 21.6%. Indian 1.2%. Asian 1.4%. Other 2.3%. Two or more races 1.3%. Hispanic 4.7%. CITIES (2002) Charlotte 580,597. Raleigh 306,944. Greensboro 228,217. Durham 195,914. Winston-Salem 188,934. Fayetteville 124,286. Cary 98,041. Wilmington 90,644. High Point 90,639. Asheville 69,193. BUSINESS Gross State Product, 2001: $275.62 bil. (12th). Leading Sectors of GSP (2001): Manufacturing 21.38%; Finance, insurance, and real estate 18.98%; Services 17.41%. Fortune 500 Companies (2003): 14: Duke Energy, Bank of America Corp., Wachovia Corp., Lowe's, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Progress Energy, Sonic Automotive, BB&T Corp., VF, Nucor, Goodrich, SPX, Family Dollar Stores, Jefferson-Pilot. FAMOUS NATIVES Benjamin Newton Duke and James Buchanan Duke, industrialists/philanthropists. Richard J. Gatling, inventor. Billy Graham, minister. Andy Griffith, actor. O. Henry, writer. Andrew Johnson, U.S. president. William Rufus King, politician. Charles Kuralt, journalist. Meadowlark Lemon, athlete. Dolley Madison, First Lady. Thelonius Monk, musician. Edward R. Murrow, journalist. James Knox Polk, U.S. president. Moses Waddell, Confederate general. Thomas Wolfe, author. NOTEWORTHY PLACES Bennett Place. Blue Ridge Natl. Parkway. Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout Natl. Seashore. Carl Sandburg home, Hendersonville. Ft. Raleigh. Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park. Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Hist. Park. Guilford Courthouse Natl. Military Park. Mint Museum, Charlotte. Moores Creek Natl. Battlefield. North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. Roanoke Island. Wright Brothers Natl. Memorial, Kitty Hawk. MEMORABLE EVENTS Part of Carolina grant given to eight noblemen b